Black Sacrament

The proper effigy for the Black Sacrament.

The Black Sacrament is a ritual closely tied to the Dark Brotherhood, usually performed by a prospective client in the hopes of having a murder-contract accepted and completed by one of their assassins. When performed correctly, the Night Mother would hear the pleas of the invoker and translates the information on their desired target to her Listener, the only one of the Brotherhood who can hear the Night Mother. The Listener would then relay this information to Speakers of the Black Hand; From there, the head of the nearest Sanctuary sends an operative to answer the call.

History

Little to no information is known about how and when the Black Sacrament originated within the auspices of the Dark Brotherhood. The intimate connection between the Sacrament and the Night Mother may suggest its history goes back to the very founding of the Brotherhood after their schism from the Morag Tong, who were known to have indulged in ritual murder which may have inspired the Black Sacrament ritual to commune with the Night Mother. The knowledge of performing the Black Sacrament eventually became well known by the time of the Alliance War in 2E 582 that it was published in a book, one that remained in print well into the Fourth Era.

Silence in the Brotherhood

In the early years of the Fourth Era following the Oblivion Crisis, as Brotherhood Sanctuaries across Cyrodiil were abandoned or destroyed and eventually the Listener killed, the words of the Night Mother responding to those calling out through the Black Sacrament went unheard. Those Sanctuaries that managed to avoid destruction got around the lack of a Listener by listening themselves to rumors and gossip, finding out secondhand when someone was suspected of performing the Black Sacrament and then setting up a meeting to receive the contract.

A new Listener

In 4E 201, if the Last Dragonborn joins the Falkreath Sanctuary, one of the few, if not the only remaining bastion of the Dark Brotherhood in Tamriel, after the arrival of Cicero, Keeper of the Night Mother with the Unholy Matron herself, circumstances lead to the new member being discovered to hear the Night Mother and then named as her Listener, the first in a long time. This causes a rift to emerge in the Sanctuary between those loyal to Astrid and those favoring a return to Brotherhood tradition including the Black Sacrament.

Later, after the attempted destruction of the Falkreath Sanctuary and the fulfillment of the contract to kill Emperor Titus Mede II, the surviving Brotherhood members relocate to the Dawnstar Sanctuary, with the Night Mother resuming the sharing of requests for contracts through the Black Sacrament.

The ritual

"Sweet Mother, sweet Mother, send your child unto me, for the sins of the unworthy must be baptized in blood and fear."

―Black Sacrament incantation

In order to perform the Black Sacrament, the invoker must create an effigy of the intended victim, assembled from actual body parts, including a heart, skull, bones, and flesh. They must then encircle that effigy with candles. The ritual itself must then commence. The invoker must proceed to stab the effigy repeatedly with a dagger rubbed with petals of a Nightshade plant while whispering this plea: "Sweet Mother, sweet Mother, send your child unto me, for the sins of the unworthy must be baptized in blood and fear."

Known invocations

Unknown era

• An Imperial woman, Camilla performed the Black Sacrament, hoping to have a contract fulfilled against an unknown Cyrodilic citizen.

Second Era

Carolus Aquilarios performs the Black Sacrament.

• Artorius, a member of the Order of the Hour during the Alliance War, performed the Black Sacrament to achieve the death of then-Primate Jonas. He requested specifically for a Silencer, Lyra Viria, to be sent, and after meeting her, convinced Lyra to defect from the assassin guild after assassinating Jonas so he would become the primate and gain a useful servant.
• Count Carolus Aquilarios performed the Black Sacrament to orchestrate Governor Fortunata ap Dugal of Anvil's death in order to bring stability to the Gold Coast.

Third Era

• Talos Plaza District resident Claudius Arcadia was arrested by the Imperial Watch, after performing the Black Sacrament to have a contract fulfilled against a murderer named Rufio. With his contract left open, Brotherhood Speaker Lucien Lachance may have offered it to the Hero of Kvatch to serve as their test to join the Dark Brotherhood by assassinating Rufio.
• Francois Motierre performed the dark ritual on his own mother, hoping the Dark Brotherhood would assist him in faking his own death to evade the Argonian enforcer Hides-His-Heart to whom he owed money.

Fourth Era

Astrid, fallen matron of the Falkreath Sanctuary, using her own charred body to perform the Black Sacrament.

• Orphaned runaway Aventus Aretino performed the Black Sacrament in 4E 201, hoping to have a contract fulfilled against the headmistress of Honorhall Orphanage, Grelod the Kind, which lead to the boy becoming infamous around the city of Windhelm where his family home was.
• Maven Black-Briar attempted the sacrament in Black-Briar Manor in Riften, although it is unclear whom she intended to have assassinated. The ritual's effigy is hidden behind a locked door in the basement, accompanied by a note addressed to the Falkreath leader herself, Astrid. In the note, Maven describes her frustration that no assassin of the brotherhood answered her prayer. There is also a pair of letters, one found in the Bannered Mare, the other in Black-Briar Manor, that suggest a disagreement exists between Maven and a person named Christophe Bartlet. Christophe's disappearance, coupled with the sinister wording of Maven's letter, suggests he was the intended target of the Black-Brier matriarch's Black Sacrament.
• After discovering their ability to hear the Night Mother's words, the Last Dragonborn is told of the Black Sacrament performed by a man named Amaund Motierre within the Nordic tomb of Volunruud; speaking with Motierre after, he reveals that he called upon the Dark Brotherhood to arrange a multi-part contract culminating in the assassination of Titus Mede II, Emperor of Tamriel.
• Upon escaping the destruction of the Falkreath Sanctuary by the Penitus Oculatus with Nazir and Babette, the Last Dragonborn is told by the Night Mother to find the still-living Astrid. Astrid is discovered to have performed the Black Sacrament using her own charred body as the effigy, requesting the Listener take her life as recompense for her betraying them to Commander Maro, using her Blade of Woe.
• If they never join the Dark Brotherhood, one random encounter involves a Brotherhood assassin attacking the Last Dragonborn, carrying a note stating that someone performed the Black Sacrament against them and demands their death. This encounter can happen repeatedly.

Trivia

• Dialogue with Astara Caerellius, matron of the Anvil Sanctuary in The Elder Scrolls Online: Dark Brotherhood, implies that the Black Sacrament was not outlawed during the Alliance War.

Appearances

• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
• The Elder Scrolls Online: Dark Brotherhood
• The Elder Scrolls Legends: Heroes of Skyrim